Former All Blacks lock Jarrad Hoeata has signed a three-year deal with Welsh club Cardiff Blues.

Hoeata played three Tests at lock for the All Blacks in 2011 and also turned out for the Maori All Blacks last year.

Cardiff confirmed the signing of Hoeata, who can also play blindside flanker, saying he will join them at the end of the current Super Rugby season.

"I wanted to leave NZ while I am still on top of my game so I could really contribute wherever I went," said Hoeata. His former Taranaki team-mate Paul Tito, who played 124 games for Cardiff, had recommended the move.

"I'm excited about the challenge of playing rugby in Europe. I know it will be different to how we play the game here but I am really motivated by that challenge and of adapting to a new side, club and competitions," he told Cardiff's website.

Cardiff chief executive Richard Holland said Hoeata's signing was a statement of intent for the Blues.

After enduring a tricky start to his Manchester United career, perhaps it is fair that Marcos Rojo celebrated so boisterously as he watched his first professional club Estudiantes beat fierce rivals Gimnasia